Health Inequalities in the UK (Background)

The term ‘health inequality’ is usually employed to refer to differences in the health experiences of different population groups (e.g. different social classes, different neighbourhoods or ethnic groups). For example, in the UK, wealthier people tend to live for several years longer than those with more limited incomes. There is also a divide in life expectancy between the north and the south of the country and between more and less affluent neighbourhoods within cities.

Over the past 50 years, researchers working in the UK have undertaken multiple studies to try to better understand why these health inequalities exist and why they are so persistent. Since 1997, consecutive UK governments have also made commitments to reducing health inequalities. Reflecting this, a prominent international expert has described government-led policy efforts to reduce health inequalities as “historically and internationally unique” (Mackenbach, 2010). Although there is some evidence that health inequalities reduced in response to the national strategy in place 1997-2010 by most measures, the UK’s health inequalities are now widening once more.

This website focuses on research aiming to get a better sense of what members of the UK public think about these health inequalities. To what extent, for example, do people feel governments are responsible for differences in life expectancy between social groups versus to what extent do people feel these inequalities are individual’s responsibility? What do people feel are the most important causes of health inequalities and why? What, if anything, do members of the public think ought to be done to reduce health inequalities in the UK? And how do the public’s views compare to researchers’ views?

To explore this, we undertook the following work:

1. We reviewed existing research exploring public understandings of health inequalities;

2. We commissioned a nationally representative survey of a stratified random selection of people living in the UK (work undertaken by Opinium in Summer 2016).

3. We held three two-day Citizen Juries in Glasgow, Liverpool and Manchester in July 2016 at which all participants were asked to complete individual questionnaires about health inequalities (at the beginning, mid-point and end) and to engage in deliberative discussions about the topic.

You can find out more about the results of this research via the ‘Citizens’ juries’ and ‘Other projects’ tabs. We are continuing to examine the data we have gathered and to review new research on this topic as it is published.